I wait for the Duke to fall asleep, and then I move closer to him. After all, his warmth is his biggest asset.

I've been thinking about the matter for a while. Yet, I still can't understand that someone as smart as Alexander, who can decipher a code in a few hours, can let his tongue slip like that.

That morning, he got up earlier than me, and he stayed in the room until I woke up as well. I thought he went back to bed after livening the fire, but he might have been up to decode my writing.

It was the second time he visited me, the night when I rejected him.

He read this Duchess's options and chose the one he liked more, this moron.

Too bad I can't continue to sulk just because my Duke is intelligent.

Only after waking up in the morning, I realise that Alexander succeeded in changing the topic of our conversation.

I wanted to ask him more about the spies, but I ended up talking about our relationship. I also got mad for something that isn't that grave. He just wanted an assertive wife, who wouldn't have acted as he did?

Well, it still troubles me that I didn't perceive anything until he made a mistake, but I better stop worrying about it like this. It would have been worse if I never noticed.

I get out of bed and look at the hour. It seems that my Duke deactivated the alarm. I didn't promise him that I would help him wake up, but it's too difficult to resist the temptation.

Alexander usually wakes up at eight sharp. Now it's not even six. It's still dark, outside in the cold north.

I grin devilishly, while I grip a corner of the blanket. I uncover the Duke all of a sudden and call his name out loud. If this doesn't annoy him, nothing will.

«Thea, don't be childish,» Alexander murmurs while catching the blanket and pulling on one side.

I don't let go and stubbornly try to drag the cover away. My husband doesn't surrender either, and we fight for the blanket for a few seconds.

Until Alexander pulls with more strength, and I bounce forward in surprise. He was just toying with me, this moron!

However, I land on the bed and, before I have time to retreat, he catches me.

This was not part of the plan.

«You were supposed to wake me up with a kiss, not by attacking me,» he murmurs while hiding his face between my shoulder and neck.

«It was not an attack,» I point out.

His hot skin is burning me, so much that I wonder if this is normal.

«Alexander,» I whisper, forcing him to look at me.

I make our foreheads touch, and I notice that his temperature is higher than usual.

«Are you feeling cold, perhaps?» I inquire.

«You were the one to uncover me, why are you now worried about how I feel?» he pouts.

«What did you do yesterday after coming back? Did you change clothes?»

«Of course, my Duchess.»

«Did you have a hot bath?»

«Didn't have time,» he breathes. «I had to make sure that the spies retired, and that they were who I thought they were...»

«Alexander, you're unbelievable! You should have at least warmed yourself, instead of sulking and stubbornly ignoring me for the whole afternoon.»

«I wasn't sulking, I had commitments.»

«You got a fever because of that!» I exclaim, and I wrap him in the blanket. I push him back, and Alexander stares at me dumbfounded.

«I feel all right, Thea.»

«No, you don't. You're burning!»

«Are you worried, perhaps?»

«If you die, I'll be a widow. Of course, I'm worried!»

He looks at me with watery eyes, and I understand that he's caught a cold without even noticing.

«I'll come back in a moment,» I whisper and run out. I ring the bell to call the servants and order the maid to bring hot tea and call for a doctor.

When I return to the bedroom, Alexander is wide awake. He's sipping some water next to the chimney.

«Why are you up now?» I inquire. «You should go to bed, Alexander.»

«I'm fine, Thea. You're panicking for nothing.»

«You're burning!»

«It will pass by the end of the day, no need to worry.»

«Are you for real? What if it gets worse?»

«Don't jinx me,» he complains and sits on the sofa.

«Go back to bed. Now.»

He lifts his eyes on me, and I can tell he's pretending to be all right. He's actually tired and suffering, but he's acting like a fool for a reason I can't understand.

Fortunately, the doctor comes soon and visits the Duke thoroughly. In the end, it's as I imagined. My Duke caught a cold in the rain.

Would it have been different if I wasn't attacked by the bandits? Would he have changed clothes immediately or, even better, soaked in the therms for a while?

I've changed clothes while waiting for a doctor, so I'm ready to start my work. Yet, I'm sincerely worried about my husband.

I walk to the Lady's chambers and work until eight o'clock. When the time for breakfast comes, my worries have calmed down a bit. However, that annoying feeling of doom is still lingering in my stomach.

I decide to eat with Alexander that must have gone back to sleep.

Still, I don't find him in the room!

I walk to the Lord's room casually, smiling briefly to the nanny. She eyes me and grins satisfied as if me looking for Alexander was something unexpectedly good.

«My Duke, are you perhaps overexerting yourself?» I ask while walking in.

I find him on the sofa, gasping but not letting go of the documents he's reading.

«I want to finish this,» he mutters when I sit next to him.

His face is red, and I guess his fever has gotten worse. I won't touch him, for now, but I can tell that he's suffering.

«I can do it for you,» I offer. My Duke is just reviewing the complaints of some baronets. They must be unhappy about the amount of taxes. Typical.

«You're so generous, my dear.»

«I'm not. I'm just taking advantage of your cold to take over your tasks. I'll have complete control over Kyre once I convince you to lie in bed. Wouldn't that be wonderful?»

«I'm sure Kyre would get the best out of it,» he replies.

I gasp, taken back.

«I can't stand to look at you in that state, Alexander. It's horrible!»

«Am I that hideous?» he pouts, and I furrow my brows in surprise.

«You do look bad. You better sleep and hope it helps your face gain some healthful appearance.»

«I want to look at you instead of sleeping,» he whispers.

Seriously?

«You can look at me from the bed. I'll sit on the sofa and work from there. Deal?»

He seems to ponder his choices, and he finally agrees.

«That sounds good.»

«Aren't you going to raise the stakes and ask me to work directly from the bed?» I inquire, suspicious about how easily he conceded.

«I don't want to pass the fever to my Duchess. It's also better if we sleep separately. The maids will warm a guest room for you...»

«Don't spout nonsense. I've promised to take care of you in health and illness. I've vowed not to abandon you in such a case.»

«I never thought you would start worrying for the man that destroyed your life,» he utters, all of a sudden.

I gasp and drop my shoulders. I don't know what to answer to this.

He must be blubbering because of the fever, so I can't take to heart anything he says.

I'm not clear myself how I feel about that part of our relationship, and it's still too early to ask for explanations. Alexander won't even tell me about the spies, right now. It was his majesty that informed me of the Empires unstable condition and Duke Grahm's aims.

«Please, don't make it even more difficult for me,» I breathe. «Just go to bed at once.»

As if charmed by my words, Alexander stares at me for a few seconds. Then, he gets up and walks away, headed to the bedroom's door.

Oh, nice. Now, I can make sure my Duke rests and that his condition improves.

I collect the papers from the table. I have to finish Alexander's work, now, so I better start from what he left at half.

Also, I might find some clues about what is happening in all these papers. I won't have a distracted, feverish Duke for a long time after he recuperates. I have to seize the opportunity before he realises I'm more double-faced that what he hoped.

I sweetly smile when I get in the room, and I tuck the covers and land a kiss on his forehead.

«I'll be right here,» I say.

Oh, I'll be rummaging between his documents right under his nose. And he's not suspecting a thing.